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T\i\ 

STEVENS 

IFsISTlTUTB 
OF 

TECHNOLOGY 
ANNVERSARY 



PERASPERA AD ASTRA 




Dedicated to 
Mrs. Edwin A. Stevens, 

In recognition of many years of kind appreciation and encouragement. 



Per Aspera ad Astra. 



Written for the Twenty-fifth Anniversary Celebration of the Stevens Institute 
of Technology, by President Henry Morton, Ph. I). 



Wliat are those stars by rugged pathway gained ? 
And what the road by which they are attained ? 

Those stars are the rewards, the crowns, the goals. 

The final dwellinors of heroic souls; 

Of those whose life-long toil of hand and mind 

Was freely given to uplift mankind. 

To gather knowledge and develop arts, 

To build up nations and make happy hearts ; 

Increasing comfort, lightening human toil, 

F'rom conquered nature winning richest spoil ; 

Guarding the weak from the encroaching strong, 

Rewarding virtue and preventing wrong. 

On such as these are starry crowns bestowed. 

For such as these the stars are fit abode. 

Of tlie rough paths which lead to such rewards 
Examples every noble life affords. 
The Martvr oives his life, the Hero bleeds. 
The Patriot strives with noble words and deeds. 
The moral teachers and reformers give 
Their lives of labor that the truth may live. 
Students of nature work to age from youth 
To brino- to lioht some hidden o^em of truth. 

* The motto of the Stevens family. 





'^9 IK 



And countless laborers suffer, strive, refrain. 
That from their work their fellow men may gain. 

Xor need we travel far to other climes, 

Or instance heroes of the classic times, 

To find examples fitted to inspire 

Loving respect and emulous desire. 

The name of Stevens calls at once to mind 

Three lives of willinor labor, which, combined 

Or singly, illustrate the upward road 

Which straio^ht ascends to that star-decked abode. 

To affluence born, and tempted thus to give 

First thought to self, and but for self to live. 

Each one in turn, and all, this test withstood, 

And gave their means and thought to general good.' 

The rapid steamer joining strand to strand,^ 

The yet more rapid train across the land,^ 

The iron rail on which the swift trains run,^ 

The shell adapted to the long-range gun,^ 

The iron-clad steamer rammins^ down the foe 

With monster cannon loaded from below,^ 

Those links which bind the world with bands of peace. 

Those arms which in the end will make wars cease ; 

All these and many others, which have lent 

So largely to the world's development,^ 

' See Note (i) at conclusion. - See Note (2) at conclusion. 

3 See Note (3) at conclusion. 4 See Note (4) at conclusion. 

5 See Note (5) at conclusion. 6 See Note (6) at conclusion. 
7 See Note (7) at conclusion. 



Grew from the Stevens lives, so richly fraught 
With liberal outlav and ins^enious thouo-ht. 

And at the last what can we fitly say 

Of him whose latest work we hail to-day ? 

Who, as a closino- act of such career 

As we have painted, sowed the seed which here 

We see developed into fields of grain. 

Loading with harvests man}^ a distant plain. 

Our Founder planted that which year by year 

Has sent its fruitage outward far and near, 

Till now there is no reoion where the sun 

Uprising does not shine at least on one 

Of Stevens' graduates doing useful work 

In turning to good ends the powers which lurk 

In force and matter, carrying far and near 

The fair fame of the Stevens engineer,'^ 

And adding always to that special art 

Which our good Founder had so much at heart. 

For him the crowning stars long since were won, 
For us they still are to be gazed upon. 
Before us still extends the ruo^ored road 
Which must be climbed to reach the blessed abode. 
On his example let us fix our eyes, 
And, following in his footsteps, ever rise ; 
Scale each obstruction which our pathway bars. 
And win at last a home among the stars. 

8 See Note (S) at conclusion. 





ROBERT L. STEVPINS. 



NoTi-: (I). Charles King', president of Columbia College, 
writing of John Stevens in 1852, said : " Born to affluence, his 
whole life was devoted to experiments at his own cost for the 
public good," and the same may be said in substance as to 
his sons, Robert L. and Edwin A. Stevens. 



Notp: (2). Robert L. Stevens was associated with his 
father in his early experiments in steam navigation from 1804 
onward. In 1808 he himself took the "Phoenix" from New 
York to Philadelphia by sea, then for the first time navigat- 
ing the ocean by steam, and in 1 8 1 1 , with his father, he estab- 
lished the first steam ferry in the world, between Hoboken 
and New York. " From 181 5 to 1840 he stood at the head 
of his profession as a constructor of steam vessels in the 
United States, making innumerable improvements which were 
generally adopted" (Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American 
Biography, Vol. 5, pp. 671-5). With his brother he intro- 
duced the forced-draft and the air-tight furnace room, now 
all but universal in sea-going steamers. 

Note (3). In 181 2 John Stevens urged the construc- 
tion of a railroad on the line, and in place, of the afterwards 
constructed Erie Canal. 

In 181 5 he obtained a charter for a railroad between 
Trenton and New Brunswick, on the route joining New York 
and Philadelphia. This was the first railroad charter granted 
in America. In 1823 he secured the passage of acts through 
the Legislature of Pennsylvania incorporating the Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad Company. In 1826 he constructed a locomo- 
tive with a multi-tubular boiler at his own expense, and ran 
it on a circular railroad on his own grounds at Hoboken. 

In 1830 Edwin A. Stevens, with his brother Robert, 
obtained from the State of New Jersey the charter for the 
Camden and Amboy Railroad, and opened the road in 1832. 
This road they operated for many years, and introduced 



numerous improvements since universally adopted, such as 
the T-rail and the vestibule car. 

Note (4). Robert L. Stevens devised the T-rail in 1830 
and went to England in order that by personal attention he 
might persuade some iron manufacturer to make it for the 
supply of the Camden and Amboy Railroad. In this, after 
much effort, he was at last successful at the works of Sir 
John Guest, in \\'ales, by personal superintendence, persua- 
sion, and a guarantee against injury to the machinery. The 
first shipment of these rails arrived at Philadelphia May 16, 
183 1, and over thirty miles were laid before the summer of 
1832. 

Note (5). Towards the close of the war of 18 12 Robert 
L, Stevens was engaged in making a bomb that might be 
fired from a cannon instead of a mortar, and could thus be 
applied in naval warfare. With his brother Edwin he suc- 
ceeded in producing a percussion shell which was adopted by 
the E^nited States Government, which purchased a large 
quantity of these weapons. 

The shell used by General Paixhaus in his famous " shell 
gun," so often referred to as the first step in this direction, 
was provided with a time fuse, and was not brought forward 
until 1824. 

Ihc introduction of percussion shells, when general, was 
the end of wooden or unarmored war vessels, the conclusive 
demonstration being furnished in the encounter of the " Mer- 
rimac " with the "Congress" and "Cumberland" in Hamjv 
ton Roads in March, 1862. 

XoTE (6). In 181 2 John Stevens made the first experi- 
ments with artillery against armor, and proposed to construct 
a circular armored vessel rotated by steam and thus training 
her guns. These experiments were continued in 1840 under 
his directions bv his sons, until in 1841 they brought their 



results to the attention of the Government, and after investi- 
gation by a commission of officers of the Army and Navy an 
act was passed (April 14, 1842) authorizing a contract for an 
iron-clad steam vessel with plating 4^2 inches thick. The 
vessel soon after begun was continuously under construction 
and alteration for a series of years, the improvements in ord- 
nance made from time to time requiring increase in the thick- 
ness of armor, and, as a result of this, enlargement of the 
hull. Her guns, of the largest size, were to be depressed and 
loaded from below the armored deck. This feature was prac- 
tically applied in a vessel built by Mr. E. A. Stevens and 
called the " Naugatuck," which did good service at Hampton 
Roads and on the James River in 1863. 

In this connection it is very interesting to read what was 
written in 1842 by Robert L. Stevens in a communication to 
the Committee on Naval Affairs of the Twenty-seventh 
Congress. 

This will be found in the House Reports No. 448 of the 
Twenty-seventh Congress, second session. Vol. 2. 

It will be noticed that the description of the proposed iron- 
clad steamer is no dream of an enthusiastic inventor, but a 
sober statement of facts proved by the experiments of the 
writer and of conclusions therefrom which subsequent expe- 
rience has fully verified : 



[Extract from House Report No. 448, Twenty-seventh Congress, second 
session, Vol 2.] 

March 15, 1842. Mr. Mallory, from the Committee on 
Naval Affairs, made a report on Harbor Defense, in which 
was embodied the following communication from Robert 
L. Stevens, Esq., dated January 25, 1842 : 

" General Description of a Steam Battery, or Vessel of 
War, proposed to be built for the Government of the United 
States, by Robert L. Stevens, for the defense of the harbor 
of New York. 



" The steam battery, or vessel, above referred to, is to be 
constructed upon a plan entirely new, invented by the writer, 
and is to be shot and shell proof ; she is to have greater 
speed than any vessel of war now afloat ; the engine and 
propelling apparatus are to be so placed as that the latter 
shall be submerged, and the whole engine out of the way of 
shot from the vessel of an enemy. Her guns are to be 
large, and adapted both to shot and shells ; her burden not 
to be less than 1500 tons. 

"The practicability of rendering such a vessel proof 
against shot and shells is not a theoretical assumption, but 
has been proved by the test of positive experiments. These 
experiments were recently made at Sandy Hook, under the 
superintendence of Messrs. John C. and Edwin A. Stevens, 
and in the presence of a joint board of Army and Navy offi- 
cers, appointed by the Government. From their result, no 
doubt whatever remains of the fact that a series of wrought- 
iron boiler plates, riveted together and placed upon each 
other, until the strata amount to 4J2 inches in thickness, will 
effectually resist the force of 64-pound shot, when fired with 
battering charges, at the distance of 30 yards. Fifteen 
or twenty shots were also fired at this distance, and from guns 
of different calibers, against a target thus constructed, and 
were made to strike against it within a space of about 2 feet 
by 4 ; and these produced so little effect as to leave it in 
a fit state to protect anything in its rear against a similar 
force. Shells fired from the same distance scarcely indented 
the iron, and both shot and shells were invariably broken into 
small fragments. 

"The above named experiments were tried under the 
supervision of the officers of the Army and Navy. At the 
last of these, the writer, who had just returned from Europe, 
was present, and trials were then made upon the effect of 
shells of a peculiar construction, which were prepared by 
him. These shells are hermetically sealed, and are effectu- 
ally secured from accidental explosion, either from fire or 



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from violent concussion ; they are perfectly safe, also, from 
injury by submersion in water. They are so constructed as 
to explode after having penetrated the object against which 
they are discharged ; and, being elongated, contain three 
times as much powder as the common shell of the same 
caliber ; they do not require the use of mortars, but may be 
fired from the guns in ordinary use. Out of twenty of these 
shells which were discharged into timber, or into banks of 
sand, nineteen exploded in the manner anticipated, rendering 
their action sufficiently certain, and evincing the possession 
of properties not possessed by any other shell, and producing 
effects which were actually tremendous. 

" It will be manifest that a steam vessel, or battery, forti- 
fied in the manner above described, and furnished with the 
means of rapid propulsion, would be able to approach the 
adversary's vessel so securely and so closely as to render it 
nearly impossible to miss her with shells fired horizontally ; 
and it does appear that a vessel possessing the properties 
above enumerated would be able to attack and destroy any 
fleet of steamers, or of sailing ships, as now constructed, 
which might be sent to attack a city or blockade a port. The 
part of such a vessel through which the guns are fired, having 
a thickness of 4 or 5 inches only, might have port-holes but 
little larger than the muzzle of a gun, and yet allow it to be 
fired at any desired angle. These port-holes may be readily 
protected from canister, grape, or other shot, by means of 
movable screens, so constructed as to be removed and re- 
placed with facility, 

" A single shell of large dimensions, and of the kind 
prepared by the writer, will suffice to sink the stoutest 
wooden vessel, if exploded within her sides, any where near 
the water line. The effect of such a shell upon a structure 
of wood was fully tested, under his superintendence, upon 
Governor's Island, in the harbor of Xew ^'ork, upwards of 
twenty years ago. The experiments were made by order of 
the Government, in the presence of the late Colonel House, 

'5 



and of several other officers, with the following result : A 
target of white oak was constructed in the strongest manner, 
by one of the best ship-builders ; it measured 5 feet in thick- 
ness, and the timbers were secured together by iron screw 
bolts passing entirely through the whole. This target was 
perforated by the explosion of a single shell, a hole being 
made in it through which a horse might have passed. 
Seven timbers of white oak, each measuring 12 by 16 inches, 
were torn into shreds, and scattered to a great distance. 

"The foregoing plan of constructing and arming a vessel, 
with most of its details, has been matured for many years, 
and the delay in bringing it forward has resulted from a con- 
viction that a period more favorable to its adoption than any 
that has heretofore occurred would arrive, and it is believed 
that it has now actiially arrived. The advantage of being 
the first to construct a vessel of this description would be 
very great, as it must render us secure, for a long time, 
against the vessels of war of other nations, as these would 
require to be built anew. As a means of defense it would 
be cheaper than any other ; and, in time of peace, such a 
vessel would suffer but little from the ravages of time, and 
but few hands would be required to keep her in a proper 
condition for use. Her ventilation would be artificial and 
constantly and thoroughly applied. In actual service her 
crew, of all grades, would not probably exceed 150; she 
would need no rigging ; with anthracite as fuel, she would 
not be rendered visible either by smoke or by sparks, and 
would, therefore, attract the notice of the enemy less, either 
by night or by day, than any other vessel. Although a vessel, or 
battery, of the kind described is equally adapted to the protec- 
tion of all our ports, the harbor of New York will probably be 
considered as one of those the best fitted for a first experiment 
with it, if experiment it may be called. Its spaciousness, its 
great depth, and its vicinity to fresh water, which will render it 
easy at any time to free the bottom of the vessel from barnacles, 
concur in pointing it out as a suitable place for the purpose. 

16 



*' The knowledge of the existence of such a vessel would 
suffice to deter most commanders from risking an attack with 
a vessel of wood, where the chances were so decidedly against 
them. 

"ROBERT L. STEVENS. 

" WASHiNCiTON, January 25, 1842." 



It is again interesting in connection with the above to 
read what Edwin A. Stevens wrote to the Secretary of the 
Navy in 1863, when the predictions, or rather scientific 
conclusions, of his brother had been so fully confirmed by 
events in Hampton Roads a few months before. 



•' HoBOKEN, February 24, 1863. 

" Hon. Gideon Wells, 

" Secretary of the Navy. 

** Sir : — I see by the public press that the Government is 
about to construct several large sea-going iron-clad ships of 
war. These vessels are intended, as I understand, to be 
about the same length and size as the 'Stevens Battery'; 
and one of them, now under contract with Mr. Webb, of 
New York, it is said, will cost ^4,000,000. 

" I propose to relieve the Government of all risk as to the 
success of at least one of these vessels by obligating myself 
to complete the ' Stevens Battery,' and deliver her ready for 
service on the following terms, viz. : 

^' First. That she shall be impenetrable to the most 
destructive missile fired from the most powerful gun (with 
its ordinary service charge), now used in our own or in any 
European naval service, to be tried upon her at short range — 
say 220 yards. 

" Second. That she shall have greater speed than any 
other iron-clad war steamer in the world. 



" Third. That she shall be more manageable and more 
quickly turned and manoeuvred than any other large armed 
sea-going steamer. 

''Fourth. That she shall have an armament capable 
of throwing a broadside at least equal to that of any ship 
now afloat. 

''Fifth. That she shall be delivered to the Government 
complete and ready for service within nine months from the 
time the order is given, for the sum of $1,500,000, but no 
payments will be required until she shall be ready for 
delivery ; provided, however, that the performance by me of 
these conditions is not to rest upon theoretical opinions, but 
(if desired) shall be brought to practical tests — the test of 
her sea-going qualities to be a voyage to Charleston Bar and 
back to New York Harbor, 

"The conditions attached to this offer, if fulfilled, would 
make the ship the most powerful and efficient war steamer 
in the world, at a cost to the Government far less than that 
of the ' Warrior ' or ' La Gloire,' or than that of any other ship 
of the same size and quality. She could also be completed 
in less than half the time it would require to build a new 
ship. If she should prove a failure, the whole loss falls upon 
me, and not upon the Government. 

" Or I will transfer the vessel to the Government as she 
now stands — having her hull, boilers, engines and machinery 
nearly all complete — for her cost to me (say 1^250,000) ; 
provided she is then finished by them on my general plan. I 
estimate she would then cost the Government in all 
$1,000,000. 

*' This arrangement would give the Government the 
benefit of the $500,000 heretofore expended by them on the 
ship, and which was relinquished by the action of the last 
Congress. As will be seen from the last offer, I do not 
propose to make any profit out of the Government, but 
desire the completion of the vessel for the national good. 
And to protect the reputation of my brother and myself 

iS 



from the discredit of any failure, that she may be completed 
on our plans, that we may not be held responsible for the 
success of the plans of others. 

" E. A. STEVENS. 

" P. S. If time is of great importance to the Govern- 
ment, the vessel could be completed in much less time, but 
of course at an increased cost. " 



Note (7). In addition to the inventions and develop- 
ments specifically mentioned or referred to, the following 
were among the subjects upon which the Stevenses carried 
on useful and effective work. 

The Patent Law of April 10, 1790, which is the founda- 
tion of the American patent system, was framed on the 
petition of John Stevens (see the Journal of the House of 
Representatives for that year, p. 30). 

The multi-tubular boiler, which may be described as an 
essential element in all non-stationary steam engines, such as 
locomotives and marine engines, was patented by John Ste- 
vens in the United States in 1803 and in PIngland in 1805. 

The forms of ferry boat and ferry slip now in use, involv- 
ing the overhanging guards supported on brackets, and the 
the use of " spring piling " and "fenders," were originated by 
Robert L. Stevens in 1821. He also invented the " cam- 
board cut-off" in 1818, this being the first application of 
steam expansively in navigation. 

In 1 82 1 he adopted the working (or walking) beam and 
improved its construction by making it with wrought-iron 
straps and a cast-iron center. 

In 1826 he invented the split water wheel. 

In 1 83 1 he invented the balance-valve, now universally 
used with beam engines. 

He was the first to place the boilers of steamboats on the 
wheel guards over the water, a practice universally followed 
to the present day in our river steam er,s. 



He gradually increased the strength of the steam boilers, 
beginning with two pounds on the square inch, until fifty 
pounds could be safely carried. At this same time in Eng- 
land the original low pressures were adhered to, so that in 
i83(S the "Great Western " carried only three pounds, and in 
1846 the "Great Britain "' carried only five pounds pressure 
]3er square inch. 

In addition to the T-rail, to which reference has already 
l^een made, R. L. Stevens also invented the hook-headed 
spike (which is the railroad spike of to-day), and the ''iron 
tongue " (which has grown into the fish-bar), and the bolts 
and nuts to complete the joints. 

In ICS50 he designed and built the " Maria," the fastest 
sailing vessel of her day. This was the yacht which defeated 
the " America" in New York Harbor a few months before the 
latter won the memorable race against the English yacht 
squadron in the Solent. This was the race about which it is 
related that Queen Victoria, asking a sailor who was on the 
lookout for the vessels, near the end of their course, which 
was leading and which came next, received the reply, " The 
' America ' is ahead ; the second is nowhere." This vessel, 
the ''Maria," was modified from time to time in her hull and 
spars by Edwin L. Stevens, but remained to the last the 
fastest sailing vessel of her time. She disappeared myste- 
riously in i(S69, being, it is supposed, run away with and lost 
at sea. 

Another evidence of the remarkable speed of the " Maria " 
was furnished during the visit of the Prince of Wales to 
America in i860. Mr. E. A. Stevens, then commodore of 
the New York Yacht Club, sailed down the bay in the 
" Maria " to meet the Prince, who was coming from I^liza- 
bethport to New York on his way from Philadelphia on the 
fast revenue-cutter steamboat, the " Harriet Eane." Com- 
modore Stevens sailed past the approaching steamboat, salut- 
ing, and rounding to in her wake, proceeded to follow her up 
towards New York ; but it was soon noticed that the 



"Maria" was fast overhauling the steamer, and, in fact, soon 
passed her, to the profound surprise of all present. 

Edwin A. Stevens invented and patented the Stevens 
plough, which was much liked and extensively used for many 
years ; but his most notable invention was that of the air-tight 
fire-room, patented by him in April, 1842, and now in use in 
all the navies of the world. 

Note (8). A classification of the Stevens graduates 
made in November, 1895, showed the following remarkable 
record : 

Out of a total of 551 graduates there appeared to be 148 
who were superintendents and managers of the entire busi- 
ness of important machine shops and like engineering 
works ; 54 consulting engineers carrying on professional work, 
on their own account ; 30 professors in engineering colleges ; 
55 assistant engineers or superintendents in work shops and 
like mechanical establishments ; 16 presidents, vice-presidents, 
secretaries and treasurers of manufacturing companies; 103 
employed, under superiors, in designing, drawing and super- 
intending the construction of machinery ; ^6 patent lawyers, 
solicitors, agents and inspectors for manufacturing companies ; 
8 superintendents of motive power on important railroads : 13 
in the employ of foreign corporations ; 6 editors of engineering 
journals ; 3 architects ; 4 chemists ; 50 unknown or unclassi- 
fied ; 25 deceased. Among the unclassified should be 
mentioned one who after graduation turned his attention to 
fine art, and who has been for many years /loj's concoiirs at 
the French Academy and received in 1893 the decoration 
of the Legion of Honor. This is Mr. Eugene Vail, who in a 
recent letter to President Morton says : " I take the keenest 
interest in the welfare of my 'Alma Mater,' and although my 
career has been so different from that of most of ni}' class- 
mates, I shall never regret the four years spent at ' Stevens " 
or the training which has (^ften been most useful in m)' after 
life." 



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